A semiconductor light emitting device such as a light emitting diode (LED) is a device including a material that emits light, in which energy generated through electron-hole recombination is converted into light to be emitted therefrom. LEDs are commonly used as light sources in lighting devices, display devices, and the like, and the development of LEDs has thus been accelerated.
In recent years, semiconductor light emitting devices using nanostructures and technologies for manufacturing the same have been proposed to improve crystallinity and luminous efficiency. In such a semiconductor light emitting device using nanostructures, the generation of heat may be relatively reduced or prevented and a surface area may be increased due to the use of nanostructures, whereby a light emitting area may be increased to enhance luminous efficiency. In addition, an active layer may be obtained from a non-polar plane or a semi-polar plane, whereby luminous efficiency resulting from polarization may be reduced or prevented and efficiency droop characteristics may be improved.
A portion of an active layer formed on a tip portion of a nanostructure is relatively thin, and therefore has a higher risk of leakage current. However, in a case in which a portion of a contact electrode in contact with the tip portion of the nanostructure is removed in order to solve the aforementioned problem, this may result in an increase in operating voltage of the nanostructure.